Finished website address

http://portal.nkschool.lincs.sch.uk/media/92mc11/

Logo

I made my logo by drawing out the logo I wanted and colouring it in. I scanned it in and edited it onto Photoshop by using the fill tool to colour in the blue sea part, I did this to make it look more professional rather than having the felt tip on it, which looked messy and unprofessional.

Website Print Screens

Master Page















The master page ensures whatever you put on it is visible on every page on the website. On it I put my logo, navigation bar and donation number to make sure it is visible to the audience and to advertise the main points on the website.

Home Page

The main purpose of my home page is to give the audience an insight into the nature of the chairty. It includes a brief outline of what the WCC does, and a background image of a child in distress, where I simply inserted the picture an enlarged it and sent it to the back of the page.


About Page

My about page is a page dedicated to the history of the charity, when it was founded and the work they do to. I created it by simple typing text onto the page.

Our Work page

The 'Our Work' page gives a real insight into the work the charity does. I included a specific case of a child, and made a video clip (Windows Movie Maker) to create it. I used my own pictures to create a story of a young boy being neglected. I inserted it onto my page, but you have to click on the picture to open the file and watch it.

Donate Page





















The donate page is like the About page, because I simply created a page and inserted text. The point of it is to get people to find out how they can donate money to the charity.

Evalutation

First of all, my charity website conforms to other childrens charity websites because it includes all other features an existing website has. The main purpose of a childrens charity website is to inform of what the charity does, and to offer a way to donate money. My website has a page designated to both of these things, offering an insight into the background of the chairty and the work it does, and a page to inform the audience how to donate. In terms of real childrens charity websites that I had researched, many of them do not have a page about real cases that aim to shock the audience like my website. This therefore challenges the conventions, but with the intention to interest the audience by making them feel bad, instead of making the charity look appealing itself.

My website is primarily aimed at children and young people that suffer from abuse and neglect, but also people wanting to donate, and people interested in that subject area, such as charity volunteers, social workers etc. It represents young people by giving out the message that not all children and young people are the deviant way they are because that is the popular culture of today, but because of their families and the neglect some can suffer from. It also represents them as being a vunerable social group within society, with the website highlighting the fact some are in need of help.

The kind of instituton that would distribute my media product would be the internet, as it is easy and free to create and is accessable to everyone globally. Also the television industry, similar charities such as Comic Relief see huge distributions by the BBC, with an anual television programme to show the work the charity has done, and to help raise futher money.

I attracted my audience by having complementing colours, as used in the colour theory to make the website look attractive first off to the audiences eye. Complementary colours contrast eachother and therfore stand out against eachother, I used this throughout with the deep blue background and light pink text. I also included a video in my website to give the audience a better insight into the work the charity does, but to also entertain them with the use of music and moving slides.

From creating this website I have learnt a lot about the technologies involved. Firstly all the conventions involved in creating a website such as the colour theory and the photography, composition and non verbal communication. I have researched them and made a guide on my blog to help me further understand the terms. From the photograhpy terms, eventhough I didn't end up using the picture, I used the rule of the thirds to make the image more effective. As you can see below the image has been cropped to make the subject of the image(child) at the edge of the photo's frame. Also I have learnt that it is definately important to research existing products (childrens charity websites) beforehand. Not only is this good for seeing what is effective, but also to get idea's for my own website. From this, I think if I had to do the project again I wouldn't use a scanned in drawing for my charity logo. Eventhough the effect on it looks quite quirky, it looks less professional. By creating my website on WebPlus 10, I learnt how to create a navigation bar, by creating simple boxes and putting them together to create one rollover. Also by using the master page I was able to make sure the key features were going to appear on every page, i.e the logo, navigation bar, and donation number.

Going back to the preliminary task, this task I think has developed my knowledge more because it involved creating my own media product. The preliminary task was useful for researching and getting a better understanding of the basic concept of website design. For example the Primary Research Task allowed me to analyze different primary school website and pick out the key features, which meant I was able to apply these to my own chairty website. The preliminary task also taught me about target audience, as looking at primary school websites meant there was a specific target audience to children and parents. Therefore this taught me that appealing to both children and adults is possible, with the mix of entertainment and useful information.

Photography, Composition and Non Verbal communication

There are many design elements that contribute to having effective photo's on websites, and many are very simple and you wouldn't know exist. I have taken images off Google to simply add explaination to the terms.











Eye Flow(above) - Elements in the scene that guide the viewer's eye through the entire frame.
















Dominant element- There is normally a dominant element with every image, which is something the photographer wants to be the focal point of the photo, and normally includes little else other than the dominant element.



























Simplicity - Only what is essential to the scene is included in the final image, this is so the image does not look to busy.


Rule of the thirds

















In this picture the subject of the image (the girl) is mostly positioned in the middle of the image, with a lot of wasted space around the subject. This is a common way to make an uninteresting photo.






















The second picture follows the rule of the thirds, as it has been cropped to get rid of one side of the wasted space. Also the girls head is now at the top and therefore more of the girl can be seem, and it also gives a sense of more height. The fact that the subject is not in the center makes the photo look more interesting, and directs the attention straight to her.

















Diagonal Rule - The diagonal rule refers to when an image is divided into two parts, and then each half is further divided into three parts. The adjacent side is divided so that the lines connecting the resulting points form a diagonal frame, any important elements in the image should be placed along these diagonals.


Non verbal communication- When you take an image you need to consider the content of it and what message it gets across.


Points to consider include:

• Expression - How the image is expressed relates to cultural identities, which people can recognise instantly.


• Eye contact - If an image has eye contact it involves the audience in the image, appealing to them.


• Pose-static or active - This often corresponds with expression, and can also be used as a symbol pf status or power.


• Clothing - This helps the image relate to the audience.


• Touch- ritualistic touching - This refers to cosmetics, showing manner and emotion.


• Body movement- The action the subject.actor in the image is doing.

Positional communication - The positions in which actors in an image position themselves, can change the status and relationship between them.

Reciprocal- a two-way relationship in which each person is the centre of the other’s attention.

Divergent- each person’s attention is diverted towards something different.

Object- the attention of each person is directed towards the same object.

Semi-reciprocal- one person’s attention is concentrated on the other, whose attention is elsewhere.

Colour Theory

The different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation are what we see as different colours, as seen in the spectrum below.

Also, the colour wheel below, represents a spectrum shaped into a wheel which is useful for showing how colours related to eachother, the outcome of mixing colours, and the colours that are oppostie eachother represents colours that complement eachother.

Using too many colours on a website it worse than using too little. Too many makes it look too busy and makes it harder for the audience to find the information they are looking for, and tires the eyes quicker. A website with few colours however, has a risk of looking boring.

Analog Colors
The analog colors are those colors which lie on either side of any given color. Often these are color schemes found in nature. A site that makes use of analogous colors usually feels harmonious. The secondary color, as described above, can often be an analogous color.

Complementary Colors
The complementary colors are the colors which are directly opposite from one another on the color wheel. Complementary colors are contrasting and stand out against each other. Often it is a good idea to use a complementary color as the hightlight color, as described above.

Split Complementary Colors
Split complementary is a color and the analogous colors to its complement color. Using split complementary colors can give you a design with a high degree of contrast, yet still not as extreme as a real complementary color. It also results in greater harmony than the use of the direct complementary.

Triad Colors
Triad colors are three hues equidistant on the color wheel. When you want a design that is colorful and yet balanced, a triad color scheme might be the way to go.

Logo's

The first important factor when creating a logo is the inpact it creates first off, and if the audience immediately recognise it. It must also be easily copiable, in the sense that it still looks good if its in a leaflet or enlarged on a billboard. Another characteristic of an effective logo is if it portrays the company/organisation in a positive way, for example the 'Save the children' looks positive because it has a character reaching up in a cheerful manner. Also good logo's do not change regularly if they are effective as they are, if they did, people wouldn't be as familiar with the organisation.

Main Task

Below are four printscreens of four childrens charities; 'action for children', 'everychild', 'save the children', and 'unicef'. I am looking at children's charities because I am planning on producing a childrens charity website, and looking at existing websites helps get an idea of what content and layout is expected.